A Matter of Honour | january 2023

Brig Ravi Palsokar (retd)

I will obey. This is the creed of the soldier. His entire existence, dependability and self-respect depends on this maxim. The nation expects a soldier to do his duty loyally, even at the cost of his life. His is not to reason why. It is a noble thought which the people of the country take for granted and in return give him love, respect and implicit trust.

If this is an indisputable fact, then the question arises as to why does it need to be discussed at all. The reasons are many, but we need to look at the past if there have been occasions when the soldier’s loyalty was tested and found wanting. Loyalty to the nation is not confined to soldiers alone but implies an obedience to authority. It particularly applies to the civil services, who too are expected to serve the nation under the supervision of the political leadership.

This quality was tested at the time of the country’s Independence and at its heart was the conduct and future of the senior bureaucrats serving under the British Raj, the Indian Civil Service. As the country’s independence was round the corner, the most senior civil servant Sir V.P. Menon approached his political master, the home minister-to-be, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and offered to resign, saying that the Congress party and others fighting for the freedom of the country had always viewed the ICS as disloyal to the Indian cause and as such it would be better if he retired with honour. The redoubtable Sardar’s reply was classic. He would hear no such talk from Menon or any other Indian civil servant. They would continue to serve independent India with equal loyalty and diligence. But what of the British civil servants? The Sardar was clear and replied that they would want to return to their own country and the government would be glad to see their backs. This ended the matter and the members of the ICS continued to serve their country, now independent with distinction. The above was narrated to the author in a private conversation many years ago by PVR Rao, formerly of the ICS and later the defence secretary. Such stories can be told about all central services, but our interest is restricted to the defence forces.

The Indianisation of the army’s officer corps had commenced in 1919 and by the end of the Second World War, there were some 2,500 officers in the army and a much smaller number in the navy and the air force. Obviously, they were nationalistic in their outlook and looked forward to the country’s independence, but they were not sure what their role would be and what changes were in the offing. Stories abound that some officers approached Mahatma Gandhi indivi